Modular candelabrum

ABSTRACT

Identical modular units are provided, and having at least three upright transversely spaced rigidly connected legs. The upper ends of the legs are provided with a socket and lower end portions mate with these sockets. The units can be assembled in tiers with each higher unit having an end portion of at least one of its legs received in a socket of a lower unit, the end portions of two of the legs received in sockets of one or two of the lower units, or with the end portions of all of its legs received in the sockets of one lower unit, in sockets of two lower units, or in sockets of three lower units.

a United States Patent 1 3,695,458 Nagel- 1 1 Oct. 3, 1972 [54] MODULAR CANDELABRUM 2,916,239 12/1959 Stopps ..108/53 v 3 170415 2/1965 Svilokos ..108/53 [72] Inventor. Hans Nagel, Dre1l1ndenstrasse 1, I

wesseling, Germany 3,207,095 9/1965 H1att 108/53 3,224,388 12/1965 SkubIc ..l08/53 1 s- 20, 1970 3,309,055 3/1967 Sefcik ..248/188.8 [21] 65655 FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS Related Applicahn Dam v 411,748 11/1966 Switzerland ..431/295 [63] Continuation of Ser. No. 861,223, Sept. 16, p

1969, abandoned, which is a continuation of Primary Examiner-Nile O. Byers, Jr. Scr. No. 653,525, July 14, I967, abandoned. Att0rneyMichael S. Striker I30] Foreign Application Priority Data [57] ABSTRACT g- 1966 Germany 19039 i Identical modular units are provided, and having at least three upright transversely spaced rigidly con- [52] US. Cl ..2ll/177, 431/295 nected legs. The upper ends of the legs are provided [5 Int. Cla ocket and lower end portions mate the e Field of Search 1 165, 314; 43 V295; sockets. The units can be assembled in tiers with each 108/91 1 1 53; 21 1/177 higher unit having an end portion of at least one of its legs received in a socket of a lower unit, the end por- [56] References and tions of two of the legs received in sockets of one or UNITED STATES PATENTS two of the lower units, or with the end portions of all of Its legs received In the sockets of one lower un1t, In 1,065,364 6/1913 Henn ..431/295 Sockets f two lower units, or in sockets f three lower 1,512,867 10/1924 Sutter ..108/91 units 2,527,706 lO/1950 Curtis ..431/295 2,795,124 6/1957 Bruce ..431/295 8 Claims, 5 Drawing Figures PATENTEMBI 3 I972 SHEET 1 UF 4 INVEN TOR m. 5 1

PATENTEB 3 I973 SHEET 3 0F 4 INVEN TOP:

PATENTEDBq an SHEET u 0F 4 i a F) MODULAR CANDELABRUM BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION This is a continuation of application Ser. No. 861,223, filed Sept. 16, 1969 which in turn was a streamlined continuation of application Ser. No. 653,525, filed on July 14, 1967, both applications being abandoned. The present invention relates to a modulator freestanding candelabrum.

Candle sticks or candle holders of the type which maintain a plurality of candles in requisite position, are known as candelabra, and such candelabra are known in a great many different configurations and types. Most of them are unitary, that is they do not permit any variations in the number of candles which can be supported, and they do not permit any adaptation of the physical configuration of the candelabrum to particular requirements, for instance to particular table decoration schemes or the like.

To overcome this disadvantage candelabra have been proposed which consist of a base composed of a plurality of generally U-shaped elements which are sup ported with their respective bights on the table top or a similar supporting surface, whereas their free ends extend upwardly. A plurality of candle-engaging elements are provided, each of which has an opening in the upper side thereof into which opening an end portion of a candle can be inserted, whereas at least one of these candle-engaging members is additionally provided in its underside with two or more openings into which a free end of the respective U-shaped elements can be introduced. Thus, such U-shaped elements are connected together by this one candle-engaging member which latter just as the other candle-engaging members which are carried by the free ends which are not connected to the one candle-engaging member, support respective candles. The resulting construction represents a composite candelabrum. Unfortunately, however, it is greatly lacking in stability and the danger always exists that accidental contact with such candelabrum or even with whatever piece of furniture or the like on which the candelabrum is resting, can effect a disconnection in which case the dislodged com ponents of the candelabrum will topple because they are not self-supporting. The danger inherent in this is obvious if one considers that each of the U-shaped elements carries at least one lit candle when the candelabrum is in use.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention overcomes the disadvantages known from the prior art.

More particularly, the present invention provides a modular candelabrum whose discrete modular component units are each self-supporting.

The candelabrum according to the present invention is so constructed and arranged that the constituent units thereof can be connected to one another with great ease to form a composite candelabrum whose physical configuration can be varied within a wide range of possibilities at the will of the user.

Despite the ease with which the constituent units of my novel candelabrum can be connected and despite the fact that they can be disconnected with similar ease, my novel composite candelabrum has great stability in any selected physical configuration thereof and is not subject to accidental disconnection or collapse. This is a result not only of the fact that the connection of the constituent units to one another is very secure, but also of the fact that each of the constituent units in itself can constitute a self-supporting candelabrum. Thus, a composite candelabrum consisting of a plurality of constituent units can be assembled at any time and at any place, for instance at such place where the composite candelabra is intended to be used, or it can also be assembled at a remote spot and be transported in assembled condition to the place where it is to be used without any danger that it might become disconnected and that lighted candles which are being supported by it sight create a fire hazard.

The novel features which are considered as characteristic for the invention are set forth in particular in the appended claims. The invention itself, however, both as to its construction and its method of operation, together with additional objects and advantages thereof, will be best understood from the following description of specific embodiments when read in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING FIG. 1 is a perspective'view illustrating one embodi ment of a constituent modular unit for my novel composite candelabrum;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1, but illustrating a constituent unit in another embodiment;

FIG. 3 illustrates a composite candelabrum assembled from a plurality of the' constituent units shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIGS. 1 and 2, but illustrating yet a further embodiment of a constituent unit from my novel composite candelabrum; and

FIG. 5 is a view similar to FIG. 3, but illustrating a composite candelabrum assembled from a plurality of the units shown in FIG. 4.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Discussing now the drawing in detail and firstly FIG. 1 thereof, it will be seen that this Figure illustrates a constituent modular unit of my novel composite candelabrum. This unit is indicated generally with reference numeral 1 and in the embodiment of FIG. 1 comprises three upright candle-supporting members or legs each of which consists of a shorter first end section 2, a larger second end section 3, the predetermined length of which exceeds that of the first end section 2, and a cylindrical connector 4. Each of the upper and lower end sections or end portions in the illustrated embodiment is of frustoconical configuration and the end section 2, which in the drawing is always the upper one, is provided with an axial recess or socket 2' in each case into which an end portion of a candle can be in serted in the manner which is well known from customary candle sticks. A candle is not illustrated because this showing appears to be superfluous, and would not add anything to the understanding of the present invention. In the embodiment of FIG. 1 each of the lower end sections 3 is provided with a recess 3' which is illustrated in dotted lines, and each recess 3' has such a configuration that it can receive therein at least a portion of a member having the configuration and size of one of the end sections 2. The three elements are connected to one another by a plate-shaped member 5, which is in the illustrated embodiment connected to the cylindrical members 4, for instance by welding or the like but which can also be connected to either the end sections 2 or 3. The configuration of the member can be selected as desired, and is illustrated only by way of example as being substantially triangular.

FIG. 3 illustrates a two-tier composide candelabrum assembled from three of the constituent units shown in FIG. 1. Because each of the units shown in FIG. 3 is a duplicate of the others, only some of the elements are indicated with reference numerals which, it will be seen, correspond to those utilized in FIG. 1. It is clear that, as a portion of one of the end sections 2 which may be thought of as male coupling portionsof a lower unit is received in a recess 3 which may be thought of as a complementary female coupling portionof one of the end sections 3 of an upper unit, a reliable connection will be established due to the fric tion existing between the thus-connected end sections. In the embodiment illustrated in FIG. 3 it will be noted that the upperunit which is supported by the two lower units, is cantilevered, an arrangement which is possible because of the fact that all of the units are self-supporting and that their position is so stable that they will not be tilted under these circumstances even if the legs of the supported units do not contact the supporting surface.

It is, of course, evident that a great many other com binations are possible with the three units shown in FIG. 3, and that my novel composite candelabrum is by no means limited to the utilization of only three such units, but can also employ more units. It will also be clear that the individual units need not comprise only three of the elements consisting of the two end sections and the cylindrical connector, but can have more of these elements which can be arranged in relationships other than those illustrated in FIG. 1. The connecting member 5 could in such case still be of the configuration shown in FIG. 1, or it could be of a different configuration. Evidently, the connecting member 5 need not be a solid plate, and in fact need not be a plate at all. I

Coming now to the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, it will be seen that this differs from that of FIG. 1 in that the individual elements shown in FIG. 1 are replaced by a single member. The embodiment shown in FIG. 2 is generally designated with reference numeral 11, and comprises the three legs or members 13 each of which is provided in its upper end with an opening or socket 12 corresponding to the opening 2 of FIG. 1 and in its lower end with opening 14 corresponding to the opening 3' shown in FIG. 1. The configuration of each of the members 13 will be seen to be frustoconical but again this is only by way of example, it being evident that other configurations are possible. The members 13 are connected rigidly to one another by a connecting member 15, which corresponds to the member 5 of FIG. 1 and which has an outline generally similar to that of the member 5, except for the fact that its side edges are straight rather than being concavely recessed. Again, however, it is to be understood that the configuration of the member 15 is to be considered only an example of one possible solution. The unit l1 illustrated in FIG. 2 is employed in the same manner as the unit 1 illustrated in FIG. 1 to assemble a composite candelabrum, and no exemplary illustration of such a composite candelabrum is believed to be necessary for a proper understanding.

Coming, finally, to the embodiment shown in FIG. 4, it will be seen that this differs from the preceding embodiment in that it comprises three elements or legs each of which consists of a spherical upper end portion 24 which in the illustrated embodiment should be understood to be hollow. The upwardly directed side of each of the end portions 24, that is that side which in the drawing faces in upward direction, is provided with an annular shoulder, ridge or the like, indicated with reference numeral 24' and surrounding an opening or socket communicating with the interior of the respective end portion 24, and indicated with reference numeral 22. This opening 22 corresponds to the openings 2 in FIG. 1, and 12 in FIG. 2, and will receive an end portion of a candle. It is to be understood, however, that instead of a shoulder or ridge the annular projection 24 can also be constituted by an outwardly extending end portion of a cylindrical sleeve which can be inserted into the opening 22 and into which, in turn, the end portion of the candles will then be introduced. Projecting downwardly from each of the end portions 24, that is oppositely the opening 22, is a lower end portion 23 which in the embodiment of FIG. 4 is shown to be cylindrical but which may have a different configuration also. The cross-sectional configuration of at least the free ends of the end portions 23 must of course be such that the free end can be matingly received in an opening 23 of an end portion 24 of another unit similar to the unit illustrated in FIG. 4. From this it follows that, if the configuration of the end portions 23 is other than cylindrical, the configuration of the openings 22 must be such as to permit mating insertion of the free ends of the respective end portions 23. The legs consisting of the end portions 23 and 24 are connected together by the connecting member 25 which in the il lustrated embodiment is again substantially triangular, but, instead of being flat, is here provided with a plurality of mutually inclined facets. Member 25 is connected to the spherical end portions 24, rather than to the end portions 23, but again this manner of connection as indeed the configuration of the member 25, can be varied as desired and as dictated by the particular requirements, for instance by the provision of additional ones of the legs consisting of the members 23 and 24.

The modular unit illustrated in FIG. 4 is generally indicated with reference numeral 21 and FIG. 5 shows three such units connected to one another into a composite candelabrum, the arrangement being similar to that illustrated in FIG. 3. Again it will be obvious that the number of units, and their connection can be varied at will and that the candelabrum shown in FIG. 5 which is able to support seven candles, is illustrated by way of example only. It will also be obvious that it is entirely possible to assemble a composite candelabrum from individual constituent units which are dissimilar insofar as some of the units may have a different number of legs consisting of the end portions 23 and 24, then others of the units.

While it is preferred to arrange the legs of each element of respective units speaking now with reference to all of the disclosed embodiments in coaxial relationship, this is not absolutely necessary. Nor is it absolutely necessary, but preferred in the interest of symmetry and versatility of combination, that the legs of each unit be spaced from one another at identical distances. Any desired number of units can be assembled to form any desired number of similar or dissimilar tiers.

It will be understoodthat each of the elements described above, or two or more together, may also find a useful application in other types of supporting structures, differing from the types described above.

While the invention has been illustrated and described as embodied in a modular candelabrum, it is not intended to be limited to the details shown since various modifications and structural changes maybe made without departing in any way from the spirit of the present invention.

Without further analysis, the foregoing will so fully reveal the gist of the present invention that others can by applying current knowledge readily adapt it for various applications without omitting features that, from the standpoint of prior art, fairly constitute essential characteristics of the generic or specific aspects of this invention and, therefore, such adaptations should and are intended to be comprehended within the meaning and range of equivalence of the following claims.

What is claimed as new and desired to be protected by Letters Patent is:

l. A freestanding candelabrum, comprising in combination, a first unit capable of freestanding use and having at least three rigidly interconnected transversely spaced upright legs of identical length and each having an upper end portion provided with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least two additional units identical with said first unit and each having a lower end portion of at least one leg removably inserted in one of the sockets of said first unit, so that said additional units are carried and freely supported by said first unit in cantilevered relationship.

2. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1, wherein said legs of said units are of frustoconical configuration.

3. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1,

wherein said upper and lower end portions of said legs are of frustoconical configuration; and further comprising intermediate leg portions intermediate and rigid with the upper and lower end portions of the respective legs.

4. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper end portions are of at least substantially spherical configuration, and wherein said lower end portions are of at least substantially cylindrical configuration.

5. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1; and further comprising connecting means connecting said legs ofthe respective units rigidly with one another in the region of the juncture of the associated upper and lower end portions.

6. A freestanding candelabrum, comprising in combination, at least two first units capable of freestanding use and each having at least thr e rigidly connected transversely spaced upright legs 0. identical length and with each of said legs having an upper end portion formed with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least one additional unit identical with said first units and having the lower end portions of at least two of its legs removably inserted in cooperating sockets of the respective first units, whereby said additional unit is carried by said first units in cantilevered relationship.

7. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 6, wherein said upper end portions are of at least substantially spherical configuration, and wherein said lower end portions are of rod-shaped configuration.

8. A freestanding modular candelabrum, comprising in combination, a first tier composed of a plurality of first modular units each having at least three rigidly connected transversely spaced upright legs of identical length, each of said legs having an upper end portion provided with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least one second tier composed of a plurality of second modular units each identical with said first modular units, at least some of said second modular units having the lower end portion of at least two of their respective legs removably received in cantilevered relationship in cooperating sockets of at least two of said modular first units, whereby said modular first and second units are releasably interconnected to form a multi-tier freestanding and self-supporting candelabrum. 

1. A freestanding candelabrum, comprising in combination, a first unit capable of freestanding use and having at least three rigidly interconnected transversely spaced upright legs of identical length and each having an upper end portion provided with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least two additional units identical with said first unit and each having a lower end portion of at least one leg removably inserted in one of the sockets of said first unit, so that said additional units are carried and freely supported by said first unit in cantilevered relationship.
 2. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1, wherein said legs of said units are of frustoconical configuration.
 3. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper and lower end portions of said legs are of frustoconical configuration; and further comprising intermediate leg portions intermediate and rigid with the upper and lower end portions of the respective legs.
 4. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1, wherein said upper end portions are of at least substantially spherical configuration, and wherein said lower end portions are of at least substantially cylindrical configuration.
 5. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 1; and further comprising connecting means connecting said legs of the respective units rigidly with one another in the region of the juncture of the associated upper and lower end portions.
 6. A freestanding candelabrum, comprising in combination, at least two first units capable of freestanding use and each having at least three rigidly connected transversely spaced upright legs of identical length and with each of said legs having an upper end portion formed with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least one additional unit identical with said first units and having the lower end portions of at least two of its legs removably inserted in cooperating sockets of the respective first units, whereby said additional unit is carried by said first units in cantilevered relationship.
 7. A freestanding candelabrum as defined in claim 6, wherein said upper end portions are of at least substantially spherical configuration, and wherein said lower end portions are of rod-shaped configuration.
 8. A freestanding modular candelabrum, comprising in combination, a first tier composed of a plurality of first modular units each having at least three rigidly connected transversely spaced upright legs of identical length, each of said legs having an upper end portion provided with a socket and a lower end portion configurated for mating with said socket; and at least one second tier composed of a plurality of second modular units each identical with said first modular units, at least some of said second modular units having the lower end portion of at least two of their respective legs removably received in cantilevered relationship in cooperating sockets of at least two of said modular first units, whereby said modular first and second units are releasably interconnected to form a multi-tier freestanding and self-supporting candelabrum. 